Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi has expressed shock over the demise of a renowned philanthropist, political icon and an industrious Igala son, Alhaji Isiaka Alfa.
Alhaji Isiaka Alfa (Waali) died at the age of 90 years on Feb 25.
The governor, in a condolence message by his Chief Press Secretary, Onogwu Muhammed, said the Igala kingdom and the entire state had lost a political colossus and philanthropist par excellence.
He said that besides being a great politician, Isiaka was also an astute businessman and financier of many businesses.
Bello, particularly extolled the late Waali for using his personally acquired wealth to touch and influence the lives of several Igala people positively.
He stressed that the philanthropist had on many occasions sponsored many students through their university education and had also helped Muslims and Christians to make pilgrimage to holy lands.
The governor expressed his condolence to family members of the deceased, particularly, Hon. Rabiu Isiaka Alfa; the Ankpa people and the entire people of Igala kingdom.
He said the late Waali lived a good life and left behind, legacy of philanthropism and service to humanity.
He prayed God to grant the deceased Aljannah Fidaus and fortitude for his loved ones to bear the loss.
In the same vein, member representing Ankpa, Omala and Olamaboro Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives and Chairman of the House Committee on Steel Development, Hon Abdullahi Ibrahim Halims, expressed sadness and grief over the death of the veteran statesman, Alhaji Isiaka Alfa.
Reacting to the passing of the Ankpa-born elder on Friday, Rep. Halims said, “the death of Alhaji Isiaka Alfa comes as a shock to me because we lost him at a critical point when his vast and valuable experience, knowledge, and wisdom were acutely needed by the Igala nation.”
The federal lawmaker, in a statement issued by his Coordinator of Information, Visual and Strategic(IVS) Operations, Muhammed Nasiru, prayed to Almighty Allah to forgive the gentle soul of the deceased and reward his good deeds with paradise.
The statement read in part: “the great merchant turned politician and philanthropist was a man of solid magnanimity, a reputation he kept unsoiled throughout his long life and political career.
“I am proud of his untainted record of magnanimity and service to Ankpa in particular and Igala land at large. He was a giver and never used his charity for pride–a rare quality in a society where people are obsessed with the desire for praise and attention by any means.’’
He extended heartfelt commiserations to Alhaji Tijani Alfa on behalf of the immediate family, Hon Rabiu Isiaka Alfa in particular and condole the entire Ankpa Local Government of Kogi State over what he called “an enormous loss of a great citizen.”
Alhaji Isiaka Alfa was born in 1932 and joined active politics in 1960 just after the country’s independence.
He started his early business life with selling of kola nuts and later ventured into transportation where he rose to become a distributor of Peugeot cars with the Peugeot Assembly of Nigeria (PAN).
Though not formally educated, he was an entrepreneurial expert who was not only successful in managing his own businesses but has equally established businesses for others too.
The late Isiaka produced illustrious children, among them, is a lawmaker representing the good people of Ankpa II State Constituency, and Chairman, House Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Kogi Assembly.
